Family members barred from contesting elections: Mayawati

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Sunday said she would snap ties with her family members if anyone of them dreamt of becoming an MP or MLA.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Sunday said she would snap ties with her family members if anyone of them dreamt of becoming an MP or MLA.

"My mother, father, brother, sister and other relatives are my relatives till the time they are part of BSP family. The day any of them dreams of becoming an MP or MLA, I will end my relationship," the BSP supremo said while addressing a rally in Lucknow.

Mayawati said she "had struggled a lot for BSP family" without bothering about the problems and this was the reason she did not start a family of her own.

"My relatives can work for the party, but they cannot contest election.... So that no one can level allegation of nepotism against me," she said.

The BSP supremo said that when BSP came to power and Kanshiram fell ill, her elder brother Siddharth started taking care of her home and the party founder.

"As part of political conspiracy, BJP made a case of disproportionate assets and conducted raids at my houses in Delhi and Lucknow following which Siddharth left with his family," she said.

Mayawati alleged that now the Congress government "was after her younger brother Anand, who is fulfilling his responsibilities with honesty and dedication since 2003.

"The CBI and other agencies have been behind him."

Mayawati said that to stop the movement, "opposition parties could adopt various tactics".

"You have to remain alert and give a befitting reply," Mayawati appealed to the party workers.